Trusting Eyes
by LoRo13
Summary: All she remembers from her childhood is a tire swing. Will he be able to help her unlock her memories and remember? Will she be able to recover from the life that she has lived? SpencerXOC
1. Chapter 1

The Great Escape

There are little to no good memories in my life. I think I remember that I used to have a loving family a dad that doted on me and a mom that kissed all of my owies better. A tire swing tied to a tree in our back yard. I'm not even sure if these are actually my memories or not, for all I know these are just lies that He made up to break me even more. All I know for sure is that I was taken when I was six years old, by a man who I only know as Master.

I don't remember how or when I was taken; I just know that I was six years old. I don't even know my real name, to him I was Pet. I only remember the pain and being in the dark. I assume that he watched the hunt for me, until I was presumed dead, and then the hunt for my body. After a few weeks of sitting in that dark room he let me out. I tried to escape, I remember trying to run to the door but he caught me and started to beat me. This was the first of many beatings. After my attempt to leave he told me he didn't want to take any more chances of his pet running away so he chained me to a pole in the middle of the house I had enough chain attached to my leg to let me go anywhere he approved. I was never allowed outside. At first I was just his servant I cleaned I cooked (as well as any six year old can) and I did whatever Master told me to. If I didn't do something right he would hit me and make me do it all over again. I learned to do it right the first time.

It was hard to tell how much time had passed. I used the little window over the sink in the kitchen to chart the seasons. After what I thought was four years he didn't have any reason to beat me I did everything exactly how he asked me to and I made sure to do it perfectly. I had become the perfect servant, only speaking when spoken to, and only doing what the Master bid me to do. When he didn't get the satisfaction of beating me anymore he moved on to other forms of torture. Master would tell me that I was never wanted that my family grew to despise me and that they sold me to him. He told me that I should be grateful to him since he gave me such a nice place to stay. This new form of abuse cut me deep. It took away my last hope of figuring out who I was. When about eight more years of abuse passed he decided to get me a friend. She was no more than ten. When he brought her home I was horrified. How could this monster do this again? I had falsely hoped that I would be his only victim. I had hoped that if I obeyed he wouldn't hurt other girls. I was so terribly wrong and it was all my fault that she was here. I wasn't a challenge for him anymore. Master had completely broken me.

The girl, whose name I learned was Sam, tried to fix me and get me to smile once more. I can very clearly remember the first time she spoke to me.

"M-My name is S-Sam, W- what is yours?" I looked at her for a minute before giving her an answer.

"Pet" She looked at me confused for a minute.

"Pet? That's not a name" She said looking at me.

"It's the only name I can remember" I said quietly. Her eyes grew wide with shock.

"How long have you been here?" She demanded. I looked at her my face impassive.

"Around twelve years I think. I'm not really sure." She looked at me her face frozen in terror.

"Don't you remember your family at all? Your Mom? Your Dad? Anybody?" I simply shook my head to give her this answer. She looked at me for a moment then asked me another question.

"What do you remember from before here?" I hadn't thought of my memories for so long I had given up on ever seeing the outside again so what was the use of a memory. I thought hard trying to find an answer to give Sam.

"I remember smiling and laughing on a tire swing hanging from this really big tree." I told her. She looked at me again with sympathy in her eyes.

"I'm sorry."She said. I nodded in response. Then I heard the large door close.

"Come here my Pet!" Master called for me. I got up to go to him. Sam grabbed my arm and tried to hold me back.

"You can't go out there he is the one who put us here!" She looked terrified. I couldn't blame her.

"It is only worse if you don't listen to him." I said pulling my arm out of her grasp. I left her in the room and went to Master.

"So my Pet do you like your new friend?" I didn't answer and he got angry. He back handed me across my cheek.

"I asked you a question Pet and I want an answer, now do you like your new friend?" he asked once more in the eerily calm way that he had had years to practice.

"Yes," was my quiet reply.

"Good, I'm glad. Now be a good little Pet and make some dinner for me." He ordered.

"Yes, Master" I replied as I turned to go to the kitchen.

"Oh, one more thing my Pet, make sure that your new friend learns her place." He looked at me and started laughing. I simply nodded my head and went into the kitchen.

Cooking was my only pleasure in this hellhole. It was the only time I felt at peace. I cooked his dinner in blissful silence making sure to save an unnoticeable amount for me and Sam to share. It wouldn't be enough so I decided that I would do without. Sam would need it more than I would.

The next month was particularly bad for Sam. It seemed that Master didn't have much patience with her. He would hit her for less than what he would hit me for. After one particularly rough day Sam was all bloody and bruised. Her eye was black and her lip swollen. All she would talk about was an escape. That night she told me something that brought tears to my eyes.

"I think it's time you had a proper name." I looked at her not understanding what she was talking about.

"I don't understand, I have a name." I told her. She looked at me with calculating eyes.

"Pet is not a name, how bout Rose… No, that doesn't fit." She looked at me harder.

"You know who you remind me of?" she asked me. I shook my head no.

"My older sister, Holly, you have the same eyes. The same grey color." She looked at me again .

"Can I call you Holly?" I smiled at her.

"Whatever you want sweet just don't let Master hear you use it. He will get angry." She scoffed at me.

"I don't care he can be angry." I started to panic.

"Sam don't make him angry. He will kill you I know he will please don't make him angry." I begged with her. She only looked at me and nodded. I left it at that not realizing then that I had started wheels turning in her mind that I wouldn't be able to stop.

Another year as far as I could tell was almost over. There was snow covering everything on the other side of the little window. The winter was the worst time of the year it was so cold and the room Sam and I used was even colder. I tried with all my might to keep Sam warm, but my attempts went unnoticed. She got sick anyway. I was scared for her life. I didn't have any medicine to give to her and Master didn't care whether she lived or died. I knew then and there that if I didn't do anything Sam would die. I couldn't let that happen. She had become my reason for living. If I didn't have her I would have given up by now. I sat by Sam contemplating what I needed to do. I knew that there was only one thing to do. I had to get us out of here. The only question was how. We were still chained to the pole. I knew were the keys were but I could never reach them. Master kept them in plain sight after he brought Sam home as a form of torture for her. I would wait for Master to leave tomorrow and then I would try to get the keys.

The next morning I woke to the sound of the door slamming shut again just like usual. I opened the door and saw the list of things that had to be done today. I ignored it and went back to Sam. Her fever had dropped a little in the night and she was breathing easier. I gently shook her.

"Sam get up I need your help." I told her. She slowly opened her eyes and smiled at me.

"What do we have to do today Holly?" she asked me. I smiled back down at her.

"Escape" Her eyes got wide.

"How? we can't even reach the keys." Her eyes were still hopeful.

"I'm not sure yet but we'll figure something out. She nodded trusting me to figure something out.

We went out to were the keys were hanging on the wall by the door. There was about a foot distance from where the tips of my fingers reached to the keys. I looked around me for anything I could use. We tried several things like a hanger and a tape measure, both of which buckled under the weight of the keys.

"Hey Holly are there springs in that mattress we use?" Sam asked. I shrugged my shoulders not sure.

"Ok hold on I'll be right back." She left and went into the kitchen and got a knife and then went into the room and came back out a few minutes later. I had managed to knock the keys off the hook with the hanger and when she came back she held out a thick unbent spring from the mattress. I made a hook on one end and used it to pull the key ring to us we were finally in reach of escape. I pulled Sam's leg to me and undid her cuff, then slowly undid mine. My leg felt weird without the familiar weight on it.

"Ok, we need to find blankets and coats and things to use out in the snow. I'll get some food together. We leave in five minutes." Sam just smiled at me.

We got everything together and bolted out of the house we ran through the forest trying to find a road. We didn't stop when darkness fell. We were too scared we didn't know if he would find us. I knew that if he found us he would kill Sam for both running away and as a punishment for me. We moved faster and faster. We stopped every few minutes to catch our breath. Sam's was getting more labored. She started to cough.

"We can't stop now Sam we are so close. I've never been this close to freedom, come on we have to keep moving." I told her. She nodded in understanding. We moved well into the night and as morning shined down on us we hit a road.

We stepped out onto the road and looked both ways trying to decide which way to go. Our choice was made for us though as a big black car came down the road. It skidded to a halt in front of us. I held on to Sam protectively. A man got out of the car. It wasn't master. I let out a breath of relief.

"Ma'am are you ok?" the man asked. I looked at him he looked friendly enough he was rather skinny and wore nice pants and a nice shirt with a sweater vest over it, and his eyes. I looked him in the eyes and I knew I could trust him.

"Please help her!" I managed to say as fatigue washed over me. I started to fall but he caught me. I heard him yell out a name when we I closed my eyes and let the darkness consume me. The only thing passing through my mind was getting Sam medication.

A\N Hello all. This is an old story that I had posted here and I decided that it needed to be revisited and revised. I have chapters 2&3 ready to go as well so they will be up shortly and I am working on chapter 4 right now. Please let me know what you think of this story any feedback is welcomed. thanks for reading LoRo


	2. Chapter 2

Finally Free

Spencer POV

"Please help her!" was all I heard from the woman in front of me before she started to collapse. I caught her before she hit the ground, my mind only briefly going over the statistics that that would actually happen in real life. I was brought out of my musings by a shout.

"Holly! Is she going to be ok?" the younger girl asked. I looked at her and took in her ragged appearance. I nodded my head.

"I believe so, it only seems like she is overly exhausted." The girl seemed to accept my answer.

"Please, You have to help us we" The girl was cut off by a fit of coughing. She was doubled over, her shoulders shaking. There was a crashing coming from the woods. My head snapped to were the sound was coming from. A large man came out onto the road. He looked at the girl and then to me holding the still unconscious woman. Then he smiled.

"I apologize sir; I hope my girls didn't cause any problems. I'll get them back home and taken care of." The man spoke with a rough voice and he sounded like he had been running. I immediately felt threatened the woman stirred in my arms. She opened her eyes. As she looked around her, her eyes landed on the man, she stiffened in my arms.

"They were no problem at all Sir, I'm Supervisory Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid, and this is SSA Derek Morgan. We just wanted to make sure these young ladies were all right." I said gesturing between Morgan and myself. I saw the young girl look at me and saw hope spark behind her eyes.

"Of course Sir, I'll just be sure to get my girls home and rested." The man started forward and the woman pressed herself closer to me. The young girl darted behind Morgan.

"Please, don't let him take us!" the girl said from behind Morgan. He looked at the girl, then back up at the man.

"Sir just what are you to these girls?" he asked with authority in his voice.

"They are my daughters I adopted them when they were abandoned by their parents." The man replied. I looked down at the girl I was holding. She looked terrified, and she was visibly shaking. She looked up at me and shook her head.

"Sir if you could tell me their names and dates of birth please, just to verify, its procedure in cases such as this." I said hoping he didn't catch my bluff. Thankfully he didn't.

"Well that's my little Sam, and this is my darling Lisa. I'm afraid I don't know their exact date of birth as I said they were abandoned by their parents." The man replied. Morgan looked down to the girl.

"Is that your name sweet-heart?" He asked. The girl nodded, and anger flashed through her eyes.

"Yes my name is Sam, my birthday is October 15th, and I am eleven years old. My parents didn't abandon me they loved me! Her name is not Lisa! He called her Pet! She thought that was her real name when I came here. I gave her the name Holly 'cause she is just like my sister. He kept us chained in his house and he made us call him Master! He gave me these bruises!" Sam lifted up the dirty shift she was wearing and showed off an angry blue bruise. Morgan looked at her in shock.

"Please don't let him take us back there." Sam said as she started to cough once more. She was coughing so hard her legs gave out. In an instant Holly was out of my arms and by Sam's side.

"She is sick; please she needs to go to the hospital!" Holly was almost in tears. I looked back at the man with my hand on my gun.

"You dirty little bitch. I'll get you!" the man said as he started for the girls. Holly moved in front of Sam blocking her from the man. I pulled out my gun and pointed it at the man. I looked back at Morgan and saw he had done the same.

"Sir I suggest you stop and not take another step." Morgan ordered. The man froze when he realized he had guns trained at him. Morgan moved to handcuff him, while I moved to speak into my mic.

"Hotch, can you send some officers to our location to pick up a suspect." I looked back at the girls. "We will also need an Ambulance." I immediately got a response.

"They are on their way, what's going on Reid?" he asked. I searched my mind for a suitable short answer to his question.

"Honestly I'm not even sure; no one is hurt the ambulance is for two young girls who came out of the forest. I'll give a clearer explanation when you get here." I said into my mic.

"We'll be there in two minutes." I could already hear the sirens in the background.

When Hotch pulled up I saw him look over the scene with a calculating glance. He came over to where I was with the girls. He calmly took in their appearances and their shaking bodies. He motioned me over to him to give him a rundown of what occurred.

"Reid, what happened?" He asked me. I looked at him, and took a deep breath.

"I'm not really sure what happened to them, Hotch. They just came running out of the woods, we almost ran them over. They asked for help and then Holly, the older one, passed out from exhaustion. Then this man came barreling out of the woods behind them. He claimed that he was their adoptive father, but the younger girl denied what he was saying. They're both covered in bruises, Hotch. And judging by their appearance they are both highly malnourished. I think they were being held against their will." I looked up at Hotch as I finished my analysis of the situation. Hotch looked over and studied the girls for a few seconds.

"We need to look at the house." I nodded and turned to the girls.

"Holly, Sam? We need you to show us the house where you were kept." I said looking between them. Sam's eyes widened and she started shaking again. Holly looked up and spoke for them both.

"We don't really know the way we just ran blindly from the house. It's in that general direction. We started running at about 1 yesterday afternoon." She pointed in the direction they had come from. I nodded.

"Ok, we are going to try and help you now I need you to go with these people to make sure you're not hurt anywhere, Ok?" she nodded her head in response and stood up. She grabbed Sam's hand and led her to the ambulance. Hotch turned to me.

"Call Garcia and have her find the nearest house around here." I nodded and made the call.

"Talk to me Sweetness. I thought you were all done catching the baddies." Garcia's voice rang out from the other end.

"We were but I need you to do something for me. I need to know the nearest house from my location in roughly the north northwest." The clicking of keys was my only answer.

"Ok sweet cakes, the house you are looking for belongs to a Mr. Charles Jackson. He has a clean rap sheet. Works for the city rebuilding roads." She stated off facts.

"Ok Garcia, can you send me a picture of him." I asked even though I knew she was already doing it.

"Should be getting it now G-man." She said.

"Thanks Garcia." I said hanging up with her and looking at the picture. It was the same man. I gave Hotch the address and directions that Garcia had downloaded to my phone.

"Ok Reid, I want you to come with me, Morgan you go with the girls." We nodded in understanding and watched as Charles was put into custody. Morgan went and got back in his SUV to follow the Ambulance I went with Hotch and the rest of the team to the house.

When we got there we found evidence of what Sam said was true. We found the chains and the pole they were chained to. We found a single room with a dirty mattress in it. The rest of the house was spotless. I looked at Hotch and he nodded. He stepped out of the house to call the department.

After we left the house we went to the hospital to talk to the girls. When we got there Holly was asleep. Sam was up and alert hooked up to an IV. It was decided that Prentiss and I would go in and ask her questions.

"Hey Sam, do you remember me? I'm Dr. Spencer Reid, this is Agent Emily Prentiss, we would like to ask you a few questions, is that ok?" I asked. She nodded.

"How long were you there Sam?" Emily asked her.

"I think about a year. Holly was there way longer than I was." She said looking over to Holly.

"Do you know how long Holly was there?" I asked.

"She didn't know for sure she thought it was about thirteen years. She said she was six when Master took her." Sam replied hatred dripping from her voice.

"She doesn't even remember her real name. I started calling her Holly 'cause she reminds me of my sister. She thought her name was Pet." Sam continued.

"What did he make you guys do?" Emily asked gently

"He only made me clean. He made Holly cook, clean, and last month he started sending me away and having alone time with Holly. She won't tell me what he wanted, but she started to cry more." I could feel the color drain from my face. I knew this would have been a possibility, but still the thought of her suffering made my heart clench. With a look to Emily I got up and walked to the nurses' station.

"I need to have a rape kit done on the older of the two girls that just came in." The nurse nodded and got up and gathered the kit. She walked into the room, and I followed.

"Wait what are they doing to Holly, Stop don't touch her, Leave her alone!" Sam shouted. I walked over to her and tried to calm her down.

"Sam we are doing that to try and help her. We need to see if he hurt her down there." I was trying to be delicate with my words trying not to make her any more upset. Her eyes got wide when the words sank in.

"He, He raped her?" Tears started to pour down her cheeks. She buried her face in her hands.

"This is all my fault, it's because I wouldn't listen to him. I never did what he asked correctly." Sam sobbed out. Emily moved to rub her back.

"No, Sam it's not your fault. What he did is because he is a sick person. Hopefully with your help and Holly's we can make him go away for life." Sam nodded. Emily continued to comfort and soothe her until she her breathing evened out and she fell asleep. Hopefully when Holly wakes up she can help fill in any blanks and then we will try to find their families.


	3. Chapter 3

Recalling Angels

All I could here was the beep of a machine. I couldn't place the sound. I slowly opened my eyes only to shut them again quickly. The light was a blindingly bright white light. My first thoughts were that I was dead. Master had told me that if I didn't obey I wouldn't see the white light when I died, only darkness. Then my thoughts turned to Sam, was she ok did she make it alive. I tried opening my eyes again; the light wasn't so painful this time. I blinked my eyes some more, with every blink the pain lessened. When I opened my eyes fully I was surprised not to see the white light anymore just a very white ceiling.

I looked around in confusion. As I turned my head I saw Sam lying in a bed next to me. She was hooked up to a lot of machines. The dark bruises on her face were even darker in this harsh white light. The sight of her like that made me cry. I tried to stand up and go to her but I was tangled in wires. I started to panic. Why were all of these wires on me? I wanted them off. I started to struggle. I pulled one off of my chest, causing a machine to let make a long beep. Nurses rushed into the room, they tried to make me lay down again.

"No let me go! I need to go to Sam! Let Me Go!" I yelled frantically. I could hear footsteps pounding up the hallway towards the noise I was making. A man I faintly recognized rushed into the room followed by another vaguely familiar man.

"What is going on?" The smaller man asked.

"We don't know she just woke up and started to panic." one of the nurses hastily replied.

"Let Me Go! I need Sam! Let me go to Sam!" I cried again pulling harder against the nurse's hands.

"Holly," I paused at the sound of the name that Sam used, but the voice wasn't Sam's. It was the smaller man.

"How do you know that name? Why did you use that name? Only Sam uses it!" I yelled at him I know I was being difficult but these people would not let me get to Sam.

"I know Holly, Sam told me. She wants me to help you. I don't know if you remember me but I'm Dr. Spencer Reid, and this is SSA Derek Morgan. We helped you a few days ago when you escaped from Charles Jackson's house." As soon as he had said that Sam wanted him to help me I calmed down. If Sam could trust this man so could I. I turned to face the man and froze. He was the one with the kind trusting eyes that I remember from before I passed out.

"I don't know who Charles Jackson is." I said after a few minutes. Since I had calmed down the nurses had let me go. I slowly started to inch back against Sam's bed. I felt a pull in my hand. I looked down and say a needle in my hand running from a tube. I pulled it out of my hand and threw it down.

"He was the man who was holding you and Sam." Dr. Reid said. I thought for a minute.

"You mean Master?" I asked trying to clear my confusion. The other man stepped forward. I stepped back.

"He's not going to hurt you anymore sweet-heart. He is going to go away for a long time." I looked at him and nodded my head.

"Good Sam needed to get away from him. Master never did like her like he liked me. I was scared for her. I tried to save her." I said moving back until I hit her bed. I looked down at her and grabbed her hand.

"Holly, you did save her. She was very sick when you found us." Dr. Reid said softly. I looked up at him and nodded.

"So Master can't hurt her anymore? Can she go back to her family, to her Holly? I think she would like that. She said that she really missed them." I said looking back at her face.

"Who is her Holly?" asked the other man I think it was Morgan but I couldn't remember. I shrugged my shoulders.

"I think it was her sister. She said she wanted to call me Holly 'cause I reminded her of her sister. I was tired of being called Pet." I said. Morgan gave me a sad look.

"We will do everything in our power to get her back to her family. Do you have another name that you would like us to call you?" he asked. I shook my head.

"If I had one I don't remember. Master only called me Pet. I thought it was my name until Sam told me it couldn't be a name." I said smiling down at Sam.

"Ok, can we call you Holly then?" Dr. Reid asked. I nodded my head. "Alright then we have some questions for you, do you think you could answer them for me?" I looked at him and nodded my head again.

"I'll try, I don't know if I'll be much help." I said.

"That's ok; just tell us everything that you can remember. Ok we're going to start with when you were taken, what do you remember from before you came to live with Master?" he asked gently.

"I don't really remember anything other than what Master told me. He said that I was around six when he saved me from my parents. That they were horrible people and that they sold me to him." I said looking down. "I never believed him."

"Why didn't you believe him?" Morgan asked.

"I guess it was my dreams." I said shrugging my shoulders. I looked up and saw their confused faces so I continued. "I used to dream about this man and woman with huge white wings coming to me and making the pain go away. They would send me pictures in my dreams of me laughing and smiling with them. Oh and my favorite one was of a tire swing in front of a white house with a blue door." I was smiling at the memory.

"Do you remember anything else from the dreams?" Dr. Reid asked.

"Not really I just knew that those angels loved me and helped me. Oh I almost forgot they used to call me something, oh what was it? The woman angel would call me Sweet Pea, but the man would call me something different. Oh he would call me String Bean. That's it I never understood why they called me that but it always made me feel better." I said looking at the two agents.

"Ok Holly, what else can you tell us from when you first started living with Charles?" I looked at them confused for a second then it clicked, they were talking about Master.

"Nothing really, I just remember that I was hit a lot. I never did anything right so he would hurt me. Eventually I learned to do what he wanted. As long as I did what he wanted perfectly I was fine. Everything was good for a while then he brought Sam. He told me that she was a present for me because I was being so good. He thought I needed a friend." I said.

"What was it like after he brought Sam in?" Morgan asked.

"He was different, he hated her. He would hit her for no reason. I tried to stop him at first but he would only hit her harder if I tried to help." I said tears starting to well up in my eyes.

"Did he do anything to you when you tried to help Sam?" Dr. Reid asked. I nodded my head as the tears started to fall. I pulled my arms around my middle and hugged myself.

"He would take me to a room I hadn't seen before. It had a bed in it. He would throw me on the bed and he tied my hands to the bed post. Then he put himself inside me. It hurt so bad it was worse than the beatings." I was crying harder by now.

"It's ok Holly he can't hurt us now." Sam had woken up while I was answering the questions. She gently squeezed my hand and I cried harder.

"Sam! You're awake! They said that they are going to find your Holly, and they are going to take you home to your real family!" I was smiling through my tears.

"What about you Holly, are they going to find your family too?" She asked me. I shook my head.

"I don't think they can Sam. I don't remember anything. I don't even know my real name. Besides I think the angels took them a long time ago. But it doesn't matter you get to see your family again." I was smiling so big at the thought of Sam going home to her family.

"Actually, Holly, if we can just get a sample of your DNA we can find your family that way." I looked at the agents skeptically.

"Ok, but I have one question. What's DNA?" Sam laughed at my confused face.

"Holly they are going to take a swab of your cheek and test it against their computers so they can find your family. DNA is a fancy word for spit." Sam said.

"Oh, Ok when do you want to do it?" I asked looking towards Dr. Reid.

"Oh, uh, as soon as possible actually. I'll just go get a nurse." He said and walked out of the room.

"Isn't this great Holly, you're finally going to find your family!" Sam said. She was clearly excited. She kept squeezing my hand.

"Yeah I guess, but what if they don't like me, or what if they don't remember me? What am I going to do?" I asked getting scared.

"Well if that happens then I will be there for you. I won't let anything bad happen to you again." I laughed at her.

"Sam, that's my job. I'm supposed to protect you." I said giving her hand a light squeeze.

"Yeah and you did a really good job at it now it's my turn to help you." She said and I knew it was best to not argue with her.


	4. Chapter 4

Hello again sorry for the delay. I realized last night that I forgot to put the disclaimer up on this story. So here it goes:

I do not own Criminal Minds. I am not writing this story for any kind of personal gain only to show my love for the show and its characters.

Long Road Ahead

Spencer POV

Taking the DNA samples from Holly had only taken a few minutes. But it had been a few days since the samples were sent to the lab. In those few days they had successfully located Sam's family, the UNSUB had driven across state lines to abduct Sam so the parents were on their way. They were scheduled to arrive today to visit their daughter. The girls were still in the hospital they were out of danger but they were still under observation. They Sam was going to be released into her parent's care tomorrow morning. Holly was going to be discharged tomorrow morning as well but she would be released into our care and will be going back to Quantico with us. She will remain in protective custody until we can locate her closest living relative.

I was waiting at the hospital to meet with Sam's family before they saw her. They needed to know what she had gone through and that while her physical wounds would heal and fade over time her mental wounds would take much longer to heal. The same could be said about Holly, but her mental wounds would probably haunt her for the rest of her life. I was brought out of my thoughts by a soft tap on my shoulder. I looked up to see the nurse who was in charge of the two girls.

"Sam's family is here. I told them that you needed to speak with them before they saw her." I nodded at the nurse as she started to lead me to the waiting room were Sam's family was. As I walked into the room I first noticed a woman sitting close to the door crying silently. A man sitting beside her holding her hand looked up as I entered the room.

"Dr. Reid? I'm Jim Stevens. They said they found my Sammy? Where is she, when can we see her?" Mr. Stevens was frantic to see his daughter.

"Mr. Stevens, yes we found your daughter, she is here in the hospital and you can take her home tomorrow, but we need to talk to you about what she went through." Mr. Stevens nodded.

"Can I please go see my sister?" A new voice said from behind me. I turned around to see a girl who was older than Sam. She had the same color eyes as Holly but they weren't as haunted. They didn't hold the same kind of pain.

"You must be Holly. We can go see her in a minute I really need to talk to you guys before we go see her." At the nod from Holly I continued. "Sam was kept for a year with a man named Charles Jackson. She was held with another woman who had been there longer. They managed to escape a few days ago. They showed signs of severe dehydration and malnutrition. Sam also had a severe case of pneumonia. She is doing better and the physical wounds are healing nicely, but you will also need to be aware of the mental scars that this experience has left on her. You might want to consider therapy.

"Will my baby be ok? That's all that matters really that she is ok." Mrs. Stevens asked looking up at me.

"I think, that with time, she will be ok. However, this kind of trauma is not something that will just go away. The best thing you can do for her right now is be there for her. She was severely beaten several times and she suffered through mental abuse as well. There is one thing I will need you to talk to your daughter about. We would like for Sam to testify against Jackson during his trial. We understand if she will not be able to but if you would please talk to her about it and let us know we would appreciate it. Ok let's go see Sam." I turned and motioned the Stevens family to follow me down the hall. The walk to the girl's hospital room was short. When we reached the door laughter could be heard. I knocked on the door frame and looked in.

"Sam, your family is here to see you." I said gently. The laughter stopped and I heard a gasp come from inside the room.

"MOM! DAD!" She yelled, excited to see her family again. She flung the curtain aside and stood still; staring at the family she hadn't seen for a year. They ran to her and enveloped her in a hug. I noticed Holly standing off to the side, silently inching to the in-suite bathroom, trying to go unnoticed.

"You guys need to meet Holly, she saved me." Sam said looking around for Holly. Holly stopped moving when Sam had said her name. She looked so uncomfortable as all of the eyes in the room moved to her. Sam walked over to her and grabbed her hand. Everyone just looked at the frail girl for a few seconds. Mrs. Stevens was the first to move over to the two girls.

"Thank you so much for saving my daughter. I don't know how we will ever repay you." She said pulling the girl into a hug. Holly just stood there for a second, shell shocked. She hadn't been shown this kind of care in a long time. I was just about to step in when Holly smiled softly and slowly returned the hug.

"I didn't save her, she saved me." She said this so softly I almost didn't catch it. A single tear slid down her cheek as she looked over to Sam. Mr. Stevens chuckled softly, and smiled at Holly.

"It's such a coincidence you have the same name as our oldest daughter." After he said this Holly looked down to the tiled floor.

"It's not mine; I don't remember my real name. Sam gave it to me; she said I reminded her of her sister Holly." She looked up at the other girl in the room. "You can have your name back if you want. I can find another." She looked so sad as she said this that it nearly broke my heart. Sam's sister laughed.

"No, I'm happy to share a name with the girl who brought my little sister back to us. You can keep it." She said smiling at Holly. I was amazed at what happened next. She smiled, it was the first genuine heart felt smile that I had seen her give. I felt a slight fluttering in my chest, but I brushed it off.

"Are you sure? I can keep it?" Holly nodded her head and the girls smile only grew bigger. "Thank you! Thank you so much!" A small smile played at my lips as a nurse walked into the room.

"I'm sorry but visiting hours are over now. You will need to leave. You can come back tomorrow eight am to sign the discharge papers for Sam." The Stevens nodded in understanding and moved to hug Sam once more before leaving. I turned to Sam and Holly, words on the tip of my tongue die as I see Holly trying to hold back tears. I move closer to her a slowly as possible.

"Holly, are you ok?" I ask softly. She looks up at me and then glances at Sam. The tears are now running down her face. The only response to my question is quiet sobs. Sam looks up as she hears Holly sobbing. She gets up and rushes to her side.

"Holly, what's wrong? Are you in pain?" Holly shakes her head at Sam's questions.

"I will be fine. I'm so happy for you Sam; you get your family back. You are going back home." Holly's tears slowed as I realized what was wrong. Sam was leaving; Holly's rock was leaving to be with her family and probably wouldn't see Holly for a while, if at all. Holly was stuck here with strangers while Sam found her home again. I moved closer to Holly.

"Holly? Its ok. I promise it will be ok." She looked up at me her eyes asking me how I could promise something like that when I wasn't positive it would happen. I held my hand down to her to help her stand back up, when she gently clasped my hand in hers I pulled her up to me so I could talk into her ear without Sam hearing.

"I know Sam found her family and she is going home with them, but I promise I will not stop until I find your family. I will find you a place to belong." She looked at my face tears still falling.

"What if she forgets me like my parents did?" She whispered back. I studied her tear stained face for a minute before I answered her.

"Holly, I doubt she will ever forget you. You protected her and helped her escape that hell. You saved her life. That's not something someone can forget." I could see the relief that my words brought her flash across her face as she nodded and gave me a small smile. She squeezed the hand that she was holding to say thank you. I quickly dropped her hand; I didn't realize that I was still holding it.

"Dr. Reid you are going to have to leave now." One of the nurses said as she passed the room. I looked over my shoulder as she walked away, before turning back to the two girls.

"Ok well have a good night's rest it's going to be an exciting and long day tomorrow." I gave them both a smile before turning and walking out of the room.


End file.
